Tiny House Update – 10.25.10

Another weekend gone and another Tiny House project marked off our ‘To Do list.’

When we first purchased our 30′ trailer we knew immediately that it would need new tires, a new jack, and some stabilizers. What we didn’t know was where to get any such parts. The tires we figured we could research and purchase from Sears or one of the Auto Parts stores. The jack we thought we might be able to get a lead on by visiting our local trailer store. And the stabilizers we found by starting at Camping World online. We’ll talk more about tires in a later post as they are much like everything else in the world of trailers – without a standard or even a rhyme or reason.

We were right on the money about the jack. After our trip to the salvage yard early Saturday morning we found ourselves about $72 richer and hungry to find that jack. We went to Hooper Trailer Sales on Highway 41 south and found an A-Frame Trailer Jack made by RAM for $22.95. We also purchased a RAM jack foot for just over $10 rather than using a wheel. Our thinking was that if we weren’t going to be traveling that much with our Tiny House we wouldn’t be needing to wheel it a foot this way or a foot that way. So the foot just made more sense.

The important thing to know about trailer jacks is that 95% of them are rated to 2,000 lbs. No reason to look for one that will support 7k or even 5k. The standard (and this is one part that DOES have a standard) is 1-ton.

To replace the jack we had to remove three bolts (one of which was quite rusted and stubborn) and then rebolt the new jack. We ended up replacing the bolts so the threads were clean and easy to turn. The replacement took all of 8 minutes. I have to admit that Crystal did most of the work so I could take a few pictures!

As for the stabilizers or scissors jacks we went with a ‘Made in the USA’ product; BAL 24-in. scissors jacks from PPL Motorhome. The box came with two so with our purchase of two boxes we ended up with four jacks (one for each corner) that are heavy duty steel and rise up 24″. They work perfectly and with the hand crank, take no time to stabilize the trailer.

It was quite a successful weekend and we are planning on sandblasting and possibly painting next weekend should weather permit. Until then we continue dreaming, budgeting, and keeping our eyes and ears open for great deals!

2 Comments

I think you should post a running cost tally on the sidebar so we/you can see as you go what you’ve spent on this!! I’m very interested to see what that ends up being, and I’d love to see it “in progress” so to speak!